Gorleston
Note: This map only gives a general position for Gorleston within the UK
GORLESTON see also CROWHURST FARM
GORLESTON: Civil Landing Ground becoming Temporary Aerodrome at times
(Also known as BRADWELL, YARMOUTH and WHEATCROFT FARM AERODROME)
Operated by: Mr D W Bellamy, Wheatcroft Farm, Bradwell
Location: 4m SW town, (known as Yarmouth in those days), W of Gorleston, just E of Wheatcroft Farm
Period of operation: 1930s only?
Runways: E/W 411 grass NW/SE 439 grass
SW/NE 549 grass N/S 494 grass
NOTES: Listed as a Landing Ground in the 1930s ‘A.A. Register of Landing Grounds’.
CLIFF PARK FARM, GORLESTON
Note: The advert, is for the British Hospitals Air Pageant display on the 30th July 1933. The location is just south of Gorleston. Were BHAP the only operator to use this location? Seems unlikely? We have Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', to thank for tracking down this venue.
OTHER FLYING CIRCUS OPERATORS VISITS
The 1931 itinerary for the North British Aviation Co ‘Tour of Britain’ lists their appearance, on the 5th of September, at ‘The Aerodrome’ Gorleston.
The 1932 itinerary for Alan Cobham’s National Aviation Day UK Display Tour gives, (on the 24th July 1932), their Great Yarmouth venue as being Wheatcroft Farm, Gorleston. See above.
On the 20th August 1933 Cobham’s No.2 Tour displayed in/near Great Yarmouth presumably using the same venue?
The 128th venue for Alan Cobham’s 1934 Tour of the UK (30th August 1934) is given as WHEATCROFT FARM AERODROME, Gorleston, Great Yarmouth. The same address was given for Cobham’s No.1 Tour on the 14th July 1935. See above.
All of which just goes to show just how damned difficult it can be, today, trying to determine exact locations for so many flying sites used by these operators - they often chose nearby sites year after year. In this case it seems pretty clear that all the different names this site was known by, do indeed refer to the same site as they tie together very neatly seeing the other clues which are available. In so many other cases it is easy to infer that a single site was used but other information suggests two or more sites were actually used. There are even instances of airfields being literally across the road from each other! Which can be very confusing to sort out.
Advice on this will be much appreciated.
AN A.A. APPROVED LANDING GROUND
Fuel and transport, (the latter typically a taxi service), were available from Gorleston Garage, Victoria Road, Gorleston. Two hotels were recommended, both on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth and both are still in business in the 21st century. The first was the Queen’s Hotel and the second the Victoria Hotel. The latter was renamed the Carlton Hotel in 1954 and is now the Bay Carlton Hotel.
A telephone was available at Wheatcroft Farm and it appears there was no hangarage.
Much of the above and the following information was found on the web;
www.airfieldinformationexchange.org.
“Members of the Automobile Association who were pilots were entitled to subscribe to an AA Register of Landing Grounds for an annual fee of 30s (1933). The register represented a “gentleman’s agreement” between the landlord of a landing ground and members of the Association. The AA inspected each site on a monthly basis. Some landowners permitted their grounds to be used without payment while others charged a small fee. At sites where landlords were not always present at their landing grounds and where they required payment, the AA issued permits on payment of a fee. Each LG schedule (59 in total during 1933) within the AA register contained details of the LG surface and warning of any obstructions (such as cattle grazing). As facilities on the LGs were often sparse (in some cases a hangar was provided) details of how to obtain within the locality essential services such as fuel, road transport, access to a telephone, railway station and where to stay the night were also included. Garages and hotels were mainly those approved by the AA under their star grading system. Another facility for members was the Air Message Service box. The AMS was designed to assist pilots, landing en route and posting a message, who required fuel or transport to be supplied at the LG on their arrival.”
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